I'll be tackling it for the 1st time in 2013 after threatening to do it this year.

I'm entered for the 140km for 2 reasons. The main one is that once the big hill is climbed (Mt Buffalo), then it's all downhill from there, and 2nd, it's the similar length (but not as steep) as one key climb I want to do in eurpoe in a couple of years - Passo de Stelvio.

Apart from being a little bit longer it's the timing. On the 140, once you're on Buffalo, you've already been up both sides of Tawonga and it can be getting quite warm. By comparison the 130 sees you through to Falls after only one side of Tawonga and in the relative cool of the morning.

Am considering doing the 130km. It does seem that the harders part of the ride would be the last ascent of the Tawonga gap, as the initial road out of Mt Beauty is very steep with a few nasty hairpins.

__PG__ wrote:Am considering doing the 130km. It does seem that the harders part of the ride would be the last ascent of the Tawonga gap, as the initial road out of Mt Beauty is very steep with a few nasty hairpins.

PreparationInclude high intensity hill repeats in your training. Find a hill you can ride up in about 5 - 10 - 20 minutes. Ride up it fast, but don't strain against a gear that is too high. You should be panting for breath at the top. Coast down, repeat. Do however many repetitions add up to about 40 minutes of climbing. Do this twice a week. If your thighs aren't sore the next morning, you didn't try hard enough.

On the day - Don't get carried away with enthusiasm on Tawonga Gap. Save your energy for Buffalo. - Use the easy section from Tawonga Gap through Bright to the beginning of Buffalo as rest and recovery. You can eat, drink and recuperate on the bike while still covering ground so you can keep your stop in Bright short. - Buffalo is hardest in the first half and for a short distance near the top. - Enjoy the atmosphere at the Buffalo checkpoint, chatting to the people who overtook you on Tawonga Gap then couldn't keep up the pace.

I'm up for my fourth A.C.E. Last year, I was faster than than my second attempt, which was faster than my first. I'm wondering if my time last year was my limit or if I'm capable of shaving a little more off.

Being in my late fifties means that the day will soon come when I will be slower no matter how much I train.

ausrandoman wrote:Include high intensity hill repeats in your training. Find a hill you can ride up in about 5 - 10 - 20 minutes. Ride up it fast, but don't strain against a gear that is too high. You should be panting for breath at the top. Coast down, repeat. Do however many repetitions add up to about 40 minutes of climbing. Do this twice a week. If your thighs aren't sore the next morning, you didn't try hard enough.

Why not find a 40+ minute hill? The sustained effort of climbing without a break seams very different to me to doing short climbs with breaks in between to add up to the same length of climbing time.

last year i rode the ACE 250 without including much hill training. mistake. while i did some long rides - which are still necessary to get your body (and arse) used to being in the saddle for a long time - they don't replicate the intensity of hill climbing. the minute i hit Hotham with the bunch, they all left me behind as i wondered how they could push that hard so early on. i caught people later on, but i was lacking in that ability to push out decent power without going into the red. of course, a lot of those guys would have just been faster than me, full stop.

ausrandoman wrote:Include high intensity hill repeats in your training. Find a hill you can ride up in about 5 - 10 - 20 minutes. Ride up it fast, but don't strain against a gear that is too high. You should be panting for breath at the top. Coast down, repeat. Do however many repetitions add up to about 40 minutes of climbing. Do this twice a week. If your thighs aren't sore the next morning, you didn't try hard enough.

Why not find a 40+ minute hill? The sustained effort of climbing without a break seams very different to me to doing short climbs with breaks in between to add up to the same length of climbing time.

Effects of continuous and interval training on the parameters of the power-endurance time relationship for high-intensity exercise. Gaesser GA, Wilson LA Department of Kinesiology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024-1568.International Journal of Sports Medicine [1988, 9(6):417-421]

jules21 wrote:last year i rode the ACE 250 without including much hill training. mistake. while i did some long rides - which are still necessary to get your body (and arse) used to being in the saddle for a long time - they don't replicate the intensity of hill climbing. the minute i hit Hotham with the bunch, they all left me behind as i wondered how they could push that hard so early on. i caught people later on, but i was lacking in that ability to push out decent power without going into the red. of course, a lot of those guys would have just been faster than me, full stop.

ausrandoman - that's impressive! (if it needed to be said)

Well .... thanks .... but I didn't say what my time was Let's just say it was .... ah .... not so impressive

after much enouragement and words of wisdom, from people like Jules21 et al, I did the 130km this year. After doing a lot of other organised rides during this year, I can still say the Audax Alpine 130km is my favourite to date. The satisfaction of climbing Falls Creek, and finishing the 130 within the time limit, after only taking up riding a couple of months prior, was amazing. Great volunteers, awesome sense of camaraderie on the road, and lovely facilities (mostly cold beer...) afterwards.I'm (rather ambitiously) thinking of tackling 200km this time around. If I get a few mates along, I may change back to 130 or 140, but I'll be there regardless.To those asking for advice from folks who've done these rides before... take it on board. The better prepared you are, the more enjoyable it will be.I'm already looking forward to it - whichever distance I end up doing.

hey oldnewby - that's a fantastic achievement to finish the 130km after only taking up riding shortly beforehand. my advice - go for the 200km! you only live once, it's a great sense of achievement. but the 130 and 140 are both great rides, so do what feels good.

jules21 wrote:hey oldnewby - that's a fantastic achievement to finish the 130km after only taking up riding shortly beforehand. my advice - go for the 200km! you only live once, it's a great sense of achievement. but the 130 and 140 are both great rides, so do what feels good.

i just signed up for he 250 again. can't wait!

Me too . I did the 200 in Jan 2011, and I've been living in Ringwood North the last year and so have ridden plenty of hills. I also bought my first road bike recently, which will make the 250 a bit easier. I'm also partway through the 7 Peaks Challenge, as part of my ACE 250 preparation.

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